HP was for a long time the #1 PC manufacturer worldwide, and yet it's better known in the tablet world for its bargain sale of $99 HP TouchPad webOS tablets after the Palm acquisition went awry.
Following some experimentation in the past year with low-cost tablets, HP is coming to the US with a modest Android offering that is set to sell for $100.
The HP 7 Plus, is a Cortex A7-based quad-core 7-inch slate powered by Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. Other specs include a 1024x600 IPS display, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, 2MP/0.3MP rear and front cameras, and a 2800 mAh Lithium polymer battery that is good for an unimpressive 5.5 hours between charges. Storage is expandable via microSD and 25GB of free Box storage for life.
This is the same 0.65-pound tablet that's been offered in Europe since March but it's coming to the US market just now.
GigaOM is calling this segment the "drugstore tablets," and the moniker couldn't be more accurate. Rather than competing in the mid or high-end tablet market where Apple, Samsung, Google and Amazon reign, HP appears to be going after the more thoughtless $100-and-below buys that often go to no-name brands, hoping to leverage its brand and gain the favor of consumers that are looking for just a tablet.